Those acquainted with the use of surfboards and sailboards are well aware of the efforts needed to maintain an upright standing position during use of such boards as well as with the dangerous consequences that accompany the loss of ones balance. The boards are typically made of plastic material that is reinforced with fiberglass and the top surface is substantially flat and often downwardly tapering or sloping toward the lateral edges. This top surface is normally smooth because of the materials and techniques used in the construction of the boards and which are primarily directed at providing a minimum resistance to the flow of water in the aqueous environment of use. In this use environment, these materials and techniques result in a slick or slippery support surface for the surfer and are the proximate cause of many of the injuries that are encountered by surfers during the use of such craft.
Various approaches have been taken to provide a safer support surface on such crafts. In some situations, the top surfaces have been modified to provide a rough surface akin to that found on sandpaper. These modifications lessen slippage but are uncomfortable to stand on and soon wear the calluses off the soles of the surfer's feet. In addition, much of the surfer's time is spent in a prone position on the surfboard, either paddling out for the next ride or awaiting the arrival of the next sizable wave. Needless to say, the abrasiveness of such roughened surfaces causes wear and tear on all parts of the body that come into contact therewith and, as such, surfaces of this nature are totally unacceptable in the environments in which such water craft are used.
The most recent approach to a solution to the slick or slippery surface problem has involved the use of so-called hook- and loop-type fasteners. Fasteners of this nature have been manufactured by Velcro USA Inc. in Manchester, N.H. for several years and are sold under the brand name of VELCRO. Such fasteners consist of two components with respective facial surface portions that are first arranged to confront and then brought to bear against each other when the fastening relation is established. The facial surface portion of one component is equipped with a multitude of loop elements and the facial surface portion of the other component is equipped with a multitude of hook elements. When the facial surface portions are brought together the hook-type elements of the one component become entangled with and are engaged by the loop elements of the other component. This establishes the fastening relation between the components.
In practice, when attempts are made to separate the fastener components, a high resistance to the separation results when the confronting surface portions are maintained in a parallel relation such, for example, as when the components are fixed to facially confronting flat planar rigid surfaces of individual members that are fastened together by means of the components.
On the other hand, the resistance to the separation of the components is substantially diminished if one of the components is flexible and thus capable to bending during the separation process. This flexibility permits the component to be peeled away from the surface of the other component. In effect, the diminished resistance is attributable to the fact that the separation forces are only resisted by the coupling between the hook and loop elements along the parting line between the confronting surface portions of the components as the one component is being peeled away from the other.
The use of hook-and loop-type fasteners in conjunction with surfboards and similar types of water crafts is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,082 granted to Cox. Basically, strips of one of the fastener components are applied to the top surface of the board while one or more strips of the other fastener component are applied to the bottom surface of a foot piece that is worn by the user of the board. Either one of the hook- or loop-type components of the fastener may be applied to the surfboard so long as the other type component is applied to the foot piece. In practice, the component equipped with the loop elements is applied to the top surface of the board because it is the least abrasive to the user's skin.
The use of the hook-and loop-type fastening components on the surfboard and foot pieces worn by the surfer enables the surfer to attain a relatively secure footing while riding the craft from a standing position. The entanglement of the hook elements by the loop elements prevents the surfers foot piece from slipping on the top surface of the board or otherwise moving in parallel with the top surface unless a substantially complete separation of the fastening components is realized before the parallel movement transpires.
There are certain problems associated with the use of the hook-and loop-type fasteners for deterring slippage on the water craft, the main problem being that associated with the relocation of the surfer's feet on the surfboard as the need arises to shift the surfer's weight in response to a changing profile of the water surface. In practice, a shift in position is commonly initiated either by lifting the heal of the foot piece and rolling the foot piece forwardly toward it's toe so as to peel the fastener components on the foot piece away from those at the top surface of the surfboard or, by rolling the foot piece laterally and usually away from the instep so as to again peel the fastener components on the foot piece away from those at the top surface of the surfboard. The forward rolling movement meets with the least resistance to the separation of the fastener components because the parting line during the separation process is usually shorter than that encountered for reasons of a lateral rolling movement.
It is the resistance to the separation of the fastener components that creates the problems. With the rapidly changing water surface conditions encountered in the surfing environment, there is very little time to adjust to a changing condition that requires movement and relocation of the surfer's feet. At times a quick lateral or forward movement of one foot is required to adjust to a changing condition whereas at other times immediate relocation of both feed is needed. The resistance offered by the hoop-and loop-type fasteners to the separation or withdrawal of the foot piece from the top surface of the board and the requirement for special movements to release the fasteners are the principal reasons why such fasteners have not become widely used in the surfing industry. The fasteners, although solving the slippage problems nevertheless interfere with the user's mobility and thus the surfers ability to spontaneously and effectively manipulate the surfboard.